England will face Norway in the World Cup quarter-finals and if they win in Miami they will be 90 minutes away from reaching the final for the second time in their history.
Tuchel feels it is a huge burden for England to win the World Cup (Image: FIFA via Getty Images)
Manager Thomas Tuchel has said he wants to bring the World Cup back to the “homeland of football”.
Tuchel admits he is obsessed with international football and is desperate to deliver a trophy as England prepare for a third successive World Cup quarter-final.
England have not won a major trophy since 1966, but after a number of near misses under former manager Gareth Southgate, they finally hired the German to get the job done.
Tuchel is familiar with the song ‘It’s Coming Home’ and when asked to explain what it means to him, he gave a very passionate answer.
It often crosses foreign soccer fans’ minds that this self-deprecating song was actually written out of frustration rather than British arrogance.
However, Tuchel is desperate to get results. When asked for an explanation, Tuchel said: “This is the homeland of football, it’s Wembley, it’s the cathedral of world football. That’s why it should be ‘home’.”
“But there are some steps in between. We must not get carried away, we must not look too far ahead and we must stop looking back now.
“That’s what we agree with the team. We have drawn a line in the sand. It’s not about Mexico anymore, it’s only about Norway. And it started today. We had enough time to digest.
“Soccer and the World Cup itself are there to build countries, to make fans dream, to make them believe, to get them excited. This is what it’s about. And we’re on the best path to doing that. And we want to take the next step.”
If there was ever a moment when England seemed arrogant, it might have been against Norway. England are 4th in the FIFA rankings, while Norway are 19th.
However, manager Tuchel insists that Norway cannot be underestimated, as Erling Haaland and others defeated Brazil in the final round, and that it would not be surprising if they were “riding the wave” at this World Cup.
“That’s what it is, they’re overperforming. But internally I think they’re well aware of how good they are and how many problems they can cause against any team in the world,” Tuchel said.
“They proved it. They eliminated a big, big, big country on the big stage. And after that, I don’t think there’s any such thing as a favorite anymore. It’s the quarterfinals and everyone is playing to win the competition and everyone has the right to dream and fight for victory.”
“I understand that the situation is a little lighter (for Norway) because they have already overperformed and can ride this wave, but I am not thinking about this anyway.
Tuchel implored England’s stars to be brave against Norway (Image: The FA via Getty Images)
“I don’t feel that the players are playing with fear, I don’t feel the weight of the shirt. In this interim period, we beat a difficult group and took good steps and difficult steps.”
“And now we go. No matter who’s on the other side, whether they’re the favorite or not, or the pressure is on, that’s what it is.”
Tuchel and his players are understandably basking in the afterglow of the victory in Mexico, which will go down as one of England’s best matches on foreign soil.
England were heroic, Jude Bellingham was sensational and Harry Kane led by example. However, it is no exaggeration to say that England have not clearly defined their identity in this tournament.
Tuchel added: “What really is identity? And what do we mean when we say this word? And I thought: We still play with wingers, we still play with high wingers. It’s a form of identity.”
“We try to press high. We have a mentality…because it’s the Premier League…What is the identity of the Premier League? There are so many different styles in the Premier League.
“We know what we want, but it’s difficult to produce it in a short period of time. So what we’re trying to do is a pattern: play with the No. 10, play with the wingers, play with the front foot, play with in-swing crosses. But determination and team spirit are also the identity.”
“I still think we have to work on our sport. We have to play better. We need to spend more time in the opponent’s half. We have too much trouble breaking the opponent’s high press. We need to play better. We have too much trouble breaking the opponent’s high press. We need to spend more time in the opponent’s half.”
“And we need to get better with our deep build-up. We need to get better with our high press. We need to connect more. So we need to get the elements of our football right, to play a little bit more correctly, like we did in Serbia, like we did against Costa Rica.”
Haaland and Norway aim to reach the World Cup semi-finals for the first time in history (Image: Al Bello/Getty Images)
“That was our identity. It’s not that obvious from a football standpoint in this tournament. We’re struggling. It’s not a question of investment. Of course it’s not. It’s not a question of commitment. It’s not a question. It’s not a question.”
“We’re thinking about the pass, but we’re already half a second too late and there’s no difference anymore. We’re defending a little too much, thinking a little too much, so we need to get rid of that.”
Meanwhile, Tuchel joked at his own expense while insisting England could not avoid attention on Haaland.
England manager Tuchel teased German newspaper Bild by recalling how he was named Manager of the Year after winning the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021.
After this success, Tuchel said he wanted to sign Haaland from Borussia Dortmund and later apologized for his comments. Haaland joined Manchester City a year later.
“I always have to apologize,” Tuchel smiled. “They don’t understand my humor! Are you surprised that ‘Bild’ gave me the award anyway?
“That’s right… there was no way out, because if Jurgen Klopp wins the Charity Shield at the same time, they will give it to him…”
Tuchel was in a mischievous mood, perhaps a way to distract himself from facing Norway’s dangerous Haaland, who has already scored seven goals this World Cup.
The former Chelsea manager insists Norway have other dangerous players, but said the defense will be “fully focused” on stopping Haaland.
Tuchel added: “We cannot avoid concentration. Of course not. There is so much quality in this moment and we have to make a decision on how to protect it. He will always arrive at the second post.”
“The whole world knows it. He loves arriving at the second post, so the question is when to contact him.
“It’s also the type of defender you are. Some defenders like to stay in the zone and try to jump early, while others like to step back and start fighting him physically on the ground. But then he pushes you away and you get a free header.”
“If you stay in the zone, he will jump over you. So when you get in the box, he has all the weapons. Of course, there are ways to make it difficult for him when he starts accelerating and when they play long balls.”
“Norway are not afraid to put long balls into[Alexander]Sorloth and he starts to bully people, so that’s what he does. So it’s a team effort, but of course the full concentration of our central defenders will be on him[Haaland].”
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